


Doing It Wrong

by Guinevak



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Aromantic Character, Aromantic Glimmer, Awkward Conversations, Best Friends, F/M, First Relationship, Friendship, Hugs, Insecurity, Teen Angst, Well-Meant Advice, title subject to change because titles are horrible, what are feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:20:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26036296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guinevak/pseuds/Guinevak
Summary: Because Glimmer totally needed somethingelseto feel inadequate about.
Relationships: Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 28
Collections: Aromantic Characters Exchange





	Doing It Wrong

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shadaras](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadaras/gifts).



“That’s so romantic!” Perfuma gasps, clasping both hands and several immature grapevines to her heart.

Glimmer blinks. “It is?”

“Thrillingly!” Sea Hawk declares. “The epic love story of a beleaguered Queen and her stalwart commander in their darkest hour! I can hear the tearjerking ballads already—”

“Ugh, _stop_ ,” Mermista says, and claps a hand over his mouth before he can burst into song. She directs a longsuffering, I’m-so-sorry-about-him look over his shoulder at Glimmer.

✨

The more her friends talk about it, the more Glimmer feels like this is just another thing she’s doing wrong. She remembers her mom and dad when she was little, the way they’d smile at each other like they knew some amazing secret about just the two of them. The mural in the reception hall, where they merge almost into one person, tall and shining. Angella saying _my love_ with that mysterious note in her voice. The light in Micah’s face when they talk about her now, after she’s gone.

Glimmer doesn’t understand. 

She loves Bow; she knows this the same way she knows her own name and which direction is down. He’s her best friend, her _best_ best friend, he matters to her in a way that even Adora doesn’t, exactly. She couldn’t ever lose him. But— 

But.

✨

“What does romance even _mean_ ,” she asks Catra.

“Pff,” Catra scoffs. “Who even knows. Mushy stuff.”

Glimmer raises an eyebrow, because _really_. “Like when you curl up in Adora’s lap and purr while she combs your hair and she gives you the dopiest look I have ever seen in my life?”

Catra’s eyes go huge. “She does?”

Glimmer sighs.

✨

Frosta squints. “You mean like kissing stuff?”

“No!” Glimmer says automatically, and then, “I mean, yeah, maybe?”

“Well, that narrows it down,” Frosta says dryly. She plucks three more razor-edged snowflakes from the air and sends them whizzing into the target: _snick snick tink!_

“You know,” Glimmer insists. “Romance. Love and… and stuff.”

“Yeah,” says Frosta. “Kissing stuff. Why are you asking me? I’m fourteen and I punch things. You’re the one who has a boyfriend.”

_He’s not—_ and _I don’t—_ collide in the back of Glimmer’s mouth, emerging as an undignified splutter. “ _Boyfriend_?”

“Gentleman caller,” Frosta says, enunciating each word elaborately. “ _Fiancé_. _Sweetie pie_.”

“I swear I will rub cake in your hair and leave you for the honey beetles,” Glimmer says, giving up.

✨

She finds him with a workbench set up on the south terrace, doing something complicated with tiny springs and grommets. At least she thinks they’re called grommets. Hardware is another thing she doesn’t actually know much about. She sits down nearby, just watching.

“Hey,” he says. “What’s up?”

“Nothing,” she says. “Are those grommets?”

“Sprockets.”

“Ohhh,” Glimmer says. “Right.” This is one of the things she loves most about him, she thinks: the way he answers her questions without making it sound like she’s stupid or weird for asking. Suddenly emboldened, she blurts: “Am I in love with you?”

Bow looks up at her, startled, and then bemused. “Uh,” he says. “I think that’s kind of your call.”

“I don’t _know_!” Glimmer wails, and buries her face in her hands.

There’s a clinking sound as he puts down the sprockets, and then he’s sitting down beside her on the parapet. His shadow falls across her comfortingly, warm and cool at once. “Did something happen?”

“No,” she says, muffled. “I just… what if I’m doing it wrong?”

“Doing… what wrong?”

“This. You. Me. Us. I don’t know!”

He’s quiet for long enough that Glimmer almost sneaks a look at him, and then loses her nerve, and she’s trying to screw up her courage again when he puts a hand on her shoulder. Relieved, she tilts sideways against him. He smells like earth and metal and a little like the peach sorbet they had at lunch, and he’s sun-warmed and steady as the stones underneath them. 

“I don’t think you’re doing it wrong,” he says.

Glimmer lets her hands fall to her lap, and stares at them. “Are you sure?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too! I love you _so much_ but what if it’s not the right way, what if—”

“Is there a wrong way to love somebody?” he says reasonably. “I mean, besides the stalk-you-for-years, try-to-murder-all-your-friends kind, obviously…”

She snickers. He does.

“I don’t want to murder any of your friends,” she says. “Usually. But I mean. You know.” Her face burns. “…Kissing stuff?”

Bow makes an odd stifled noise, as if several different words just tried to be the first things out of his mouth. 

“Or not!” Glimmer says hurriedly. “Not that, I mean, that’s not what I meant, I don’t think, I—”

She breaks off as his arm tightens around her. “Tell you what,” he says, and she realizes he’s grinning into her hair. “Any time you want to try, uh, kissing stuff, I will definitely help you do that.”

“Oh,” she squeaks. “Okay.” 

“And… if you don’t, that’s okay too. We can figure that part out. I don’t need you to be anything but Glimmer.”

The breath she’s been swallowing flows out of her, so hard she almost expects it to blow them both away, and she wriggles around and hugs him back fiercely.

“I don’t need you to be anything but Bow,” she says.

He lets go a breath of his own, his ribcage expanding within the tight circle of her arms as he relaxes.


End file.
